Abnormal behavior alla Romana
I've got a few pet peeves - well, actually probably more than a few because as Steve reminds me again and again - I am what is known as a "control freak". Okay, so I like things my way - I admit it. However, with children, it's much harder to be in control so when you've got a family comprised of strong personalities in addition to the need/desire of my daughters to assert their independence - well, we butt heads a lot.
Children are one thing, but adult behavior is another. Maybe it's the heat, but I've been increasingly annoyed at several behaviors (misbehaviors) that I'm sure are not particular to Rome, but the likes of which I've never really experienced anywhere else I have visited. Here's a few that come to mind.
1. I am invisible. My daughters and I go into our favorite neighborhood gelateria. There's a bit of a queue so we sit on the benches directly in front of the counter to wait our turn. In typical Italian fashion - since no one knows how to form a line here - I instead take note of the people who are ahead of me which are only a handful. Woman in red dress walks in after us, looks at us and waits her turn. I can already foresee what is going to happen. When it is almost our turn, I pony up to the counter and sure enough, as soon as the clerk has finished handing over the change to the person before us, red dress woman pipes up her order and the clerk starts to serve her. I chime in that we were before her and they both act SO SURPRISED. This is the one that always kills me. I tell them that - oh, it's okay, I'm used to their kind of behavior. They, of course, try to act so civil so cultured - please, it was a simple mistake. I tell them - no problem, I like sitting around gelaterias with my children and not ordering. What gets me is the way Romans always act so affronted, so insulted - that it was an "honest" mistake. That they are the ones above all this and I'm just being an uptight foreigner. Please.
2. Doctors talking on the phone during a visit. I will NEVER EVER get used to this behavior no matter if I live in Italy the rest of my life. I have been in physical therapy appointments and left on the table as the therapist answers the phone. I have been interrupted countless times in the middle of explaining whatever health problem I have or my daughters have and then having to repeat myself as the doctor has lost track of what I was saying. I have been incredibly pregnant and nervous about some mystery ailment and had the doctor pick up to talk to a friend about dinner plans that night. Needless to say, I only visit the doctor if absolutely necessary and practice natural health care on myself and my children.
3. Getting run down on the zebra crossing. Not only do you have to wait and then practically throw yourself into traffic to cross the street here ON A PEDESTRIAN CROSSING, but people don't even slow down to let you finish crossing - they just keep coming. So heaven forbid if your child stops in the middle of the street or wants to back track for whatever reason. You learn quickly to hold onto your child's hand tight and drag them across because they will certainly get hit if anything unusual happens in a crossing. Depending on my mood, I cross ever so s l o w l y, just to make those assholes actually stop. I've noticed that people in Mercedes and Alfa Romeos are the worst. The statistic is that about 7 people PER DAY get mowed down while crossing the street here - so unnecessary. Several years ago, I saw a young Australian couple get hit on the crossing in front of our former apartment building. Thankfully, they were not seriously hurt, but what a welcome to Rome.
Children are one thing, but adult behavior is another. Maybe it's the heat, but I've been increasingly annoyed at several behaviors (misbehaviors) that I'm sure are not particular to Rome, but the likes of which I've never really experienced anywhere else I have visited. Here's a few that come to mind.
1. I am invisible. My daughters and I go into our favorite neighborhood gelateria. There's a bit of a queue so we sit on the benches directly in front of the counter to wait our turn. In typical Italian fashion - since no one knows how to form a line here - I instead take note of the people who are ahead of me which are only a handful. Woman in red dress walks in after us, looks at us and waits her turn. I can already foresee what is going to happen. When it is almost our turn, I pony up to the counter and sure enough, as soon as the clerk has finished handing over the change to the person before us, red dress woman pipes up her order and the clerk starts to serve her. I chime in that we were before her and they both act SO SURPRISED. This is the one that always kills me. I tell them that - oh, it's okay, I'm used to their kind of behavior. They, of course, try to act so civil so cultured - please, it was a simple mistake. I tell them - no problem, I like sitting around gelaterias with my children and not ordering. What gets me is the way Romans always act so affronted, so insulted - that it was an "honest" mistake. That they are the ones above all this and I'm just being an uptight foreigner. Please.
2. Doctors talking on the phone during a visit. I will NEVER EVER get used to this behavior no matter if I live in Italy the rest of my life. I have been in physical therapy appointments and left on the table as the therapist answers the phone. I have been interrupted countless times in the middle of explaining whatever health problem I have or my daughters have and then having to repeat myself as the doctor has lost track of what I was saying. I have been incredibly pregnant and nervous about some mystery ailment and had the doctor pick up to talk to a friend about dinner plans that night. Needless to say, I only visit the doctor if absolutely necessary and practice natural health care on myself and my children.
3. Getting run down on the zebra crossing. Not only do you have to wait and then practically throw yourself into traffic to cross the street here ON A PEDESTRIAN CROSSING, but people don't even slow down to let you finish crossing - they just keep coming. So heaven forbid if your child stops in the middle of the street or wants to back track for whatever reason. You learn quickly to hold onto your child's hand tight and drag them across because they will certainly get hit if anything unusual happens in a crossing. Depending on my mood, I cross ever so s l o w l y, just to make those assholes actually stop. I've noticed that people in Mercedes and Alfa Romeos are the worst. The statistic is that about 7 people PER DAY get mowed down while crossing the street here - so unnecessary. Several years ago, I saw a young Australian couple get hit on the crossing in front of our former apartment building. Thankfully, they were not seriously hurt, but what a welcome to Rome.
posted by lomalinda at
10:31
4 Comments:
I couldn't agree with you more!
The one that peeves me the most is the sneaky line cutting. I've become so used to people trying to cut line that I'm always on my guard, which is a rather unpleasant state to have to be in... but I can't bear presumptuous people who, when caught, play dumb.
What's even more disturbing is line cutters in places that have numbers!!! I had the misfortune of having to go to the Acea office and even though there were giant red digital numbers on the screen, some a-hole tried to cut ahead of us without blinking an eye. Needless to say, I made sure that didn't happen!
Jarrod and I were baffled by the lack of lines in Italy. Pushing yourself onto a bus seems so....well, pushy. I felt like cattle every time we had to wait for something.
When people get pissy about lines in the states I often remark that they should visit Italy - then they will be thankful for American lines.
Sing it sister!
I was actually DAYDREAMING today about orderly traffic and being able to walk across a street without fearing for my life...
I managed Rome, Orvieto, Lucca, Cinque Terre and Florence on my own for a solo-trip, not a big deal to most but a pretty big step for me, but what I cannot get past, nor get over and DREAD still..is crossing the roads. I was just sitting last night at my home on my porch here in the US smoking the dreaded cigarette and I started watching some people cross the street, watching how the car that approached waited and waited before moving one-inch, than I thought of Rome, now why can't they do this in Italy? (especially Rome) why not just stop properly at the red light, or stop sign, nice and civilized? glad i'm not the only one bugged by it because as i watch others i thought they looked oblivious to it and I had to try not to shriek ! Although the worse place I saw for "line courtesy" was India, holy moly not only do they butt, they push right up to the counter and I wont even get into what crossing a road is like there, INSANE !
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